Thursday, February 20, 2014

Why are we doing this?!?

When I decided to train with Griffin's Friends, I had just come off a summer training cycle for a fall marathon. My experience was easy enough and uneventful, and I was looking forward to this new endeavor. Unfortunately I was a little caught up and not thinking about what winter in New England brings.......

According to The Republican, roughly half of this winter's snow (~20 in) has fallen this month - and we're only halfway through February! So it's no wonder that Tim and I woke up on Sunday and decided that we would run indoors. We are lucky to have this option, and doubly so since we have two options: treadmill and indoor track.

Last week was a step-down week, so our long run was only 10 miles and we figured that would be easy enough to do indoors. Tim decided to stick with 80 laps (!!!!) on the indoor track while I decided to split up 3 mi, 4 mi, 3 mi, as track, treadmill, track. The first half hour went by nice and quick as we ran together and chatted. After a weekend away shoving food in our faces, the exercise felt great. It was a grand old time, until we parted ways......

Halfway through my solo run I said to myself - WHY AM I DOING THIS?! This thought has come up during runs all winter long, and I always have to remind myself of why I am running long distances during these cold & snowy winter months.......

*THE KIDS: Mostly, it's for the children who are currently battling cancer. Whatever they are going through is infinitely worse than the slight discomfort I feel about getting out of my bed every Sunday and doing these long runs. While I am not a doctor, nor a family member, I can help bring them moments of joy.

photo taken from GF facebook page

*TIM: Have I mentioned how incredible of a man Tim Lynch is? Well, he's a thoughtful, caring, and dedicated individual who has overcome this battle himself. My life has been enriched by his presence, and it's hard to believe that he has had so many second (third, fourth, ....) chances at life that have allowed him to be here today. He does not take the gift of life for granted and is doing what he can to make the world a better place for others. And although he was not a runner 6 months ago, there's no question about his ability to conquer the marathon now.

This is my inspiration, this is why I am out in the elements. (Un)fortunately we are no longer going to be running the Boston Marathon, but I'm excited about the change of venue. On May 4, we will be running The Walter Childs Memorial Race of Champions Marathon in Holyoke, MA. We look forward to having a huge outpouring of support in this hometown run and will continue to train our hardest.

In the meantime, you can support our fundraising efforts here....thank you!